President, VP Announce Federal Job Training Investments

Keeping with the theme of strengthening the middle class while the economy slowly improves, President Barack Obama (pictured center) has been consistent in promoting the necessity for job training for burgeoning industries. After tasking Vice President Joe Biden (pictured) to take action by leading an initiative focused on training American workers, the pair announced on Wednesday the new federal job training investments.

The Obama administration released facts and figures this morning pointing to the disconnect between places of employment seeking skilled workers and job seekers not realizing they can be trained to fill those open positions. A common pathway that some neglect or are unaware of is community college and apprenticeships. In the announcement, it was said that 87 percent of apprentices find a job after completing their training programs and that the average salary for these individuals is more than $50,000.

The federal investments will use existing funds to bolster job-driven training and look to construct stronger alliances with businesses, unions, community colleges, and training organizations in order to get potential workers the training they need for the in-demand jobs of today. President Obama has been firm on challenging Congress to act on measures that improve the station of job seekers and has called on non-profits, state governments, and others to join the effort.

The American Job Training Executive Actions cover a wide area of developing needs.

The Department of Labor has released an application for partnerships with community colleges, employers, and industries to develop training programs for jobs that are in demand, and trainees will reportedly find an easier path to employment. The application effort is part of a $500 million competition for these entities to obtain grant funds to develop training programs and jobs in a cohesive manner.

The Labor Department’s push is a part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance and Community College and Career Training (TAA-CCCT) competitive grant program. Grants will be awarded to community colleges that apply for the award in every state.

In addition, the Labor Department will make $100 million of existing H-1B funds (monies used to help businesses hire staff that are not authorized to work in the United States) available to create American Apprenticeship Grants to reward partnering entities that help workers get the training they need. This, too, will be a competition that will be launched this fall and awarded only to those community colleges, businesses, and faith-based organizations that prove their model of apprenticeship training is effective.

Get full details about the American Job Training Executive Actions here.